#1why Prayer? Series

#1 WHY SHOULD I PRAY?

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.

This is part #1 of a two part series.

NO TIME Author unknown

I KNELT TO PRAY, BUT NOT FOR LONG.

I HAD TO MUCH TOO DO.

I MUST HURRY OFF AND GET TO WORK,

FOR MY BILLS WILL SOON BE DUE.

AND SO I SAID A HURRIED PRAYER,

JUMPED UP FROM MY KNEES.

MY CHRISTIAN DUTY WAS DONE,

MY SOUL COULD BE AT EASE.

ALL THROUGH THE DAY I HAD NO TIME

TO SPEAK A WORD OF CHEER,

NO TIME TO SPEAK OF CHRIST TO FRIENDS.

THEY WOULD LAUGH AT ME, I FEARED.

NO TIME, NO TIME, TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH TO DO--

THAT WAS MY CONSTANT CRY;

NO TIME TO GIVE TO THOSE IN NEED --

AT LAST TWAS TIME TO DIE.

AND WHEN BEFORE THE LORD I CAME,

I STOOD WITH DOWNCAST EYES.

WITHIN HIS HANDS HE HELD A BOOK.

IT WAS THE BOOK OF LIFE.

GOD LOOKED INTO HIS BOOK AND SAID,

YOUR NAME I CANNOT FIND,

I ONCE WAS GOING TO WRITE IT DOWN,

BUT YOU NEVER FOUND THE TIME.

I. WE CAN NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PRAYER

IN OUR DAILY LIFE. WE NEED TO LEARN TO GIVE TIME TO

DAILY PRAYER.

A. Faith can fight facts by faithfulness to prayer and good communication with our heavenly Father.

B. God can fight facts and win. We must let faith and prayer fight our battles, not words and fists!

C. Most failures can be directly attributed to the lack of prayer.

D. A spiritually slow person once asked God:

Why aren’t you doing anything?

God replied: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

E. There is a truth that we often don’t want to admit:

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE ABOUT PRAYER, OFTEN MORE IS SAID THAN DONE!

F. Prayer is a great effective tool in the heart of a believer.

Prayer is not a toy! It is a tool.

G. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing! By the way, have you identified what the main thing is?

H. Before we can conquer the world, we must conquer ourselves.

II. YOU CAN IF YOU THINK YOU CAN?

YOU WILL NEVER TRY IF YOU DON’T THINK YOU CAN.

A. A gossip sees difficulty in every opportunity.

A person given to prayer will see opportunity in every difficulty.

B. Negative thinking produces negative talk.

Negative talking produces negative thinking.

Small minds discuss people.

Average minds discuss events.

Great minds pray and reach into the Divine possibilities.

C. Prayer brings three questions of credibility:

1. Can God do this?

2. Will God do this for me?

3. When will God do this for me?

D. When you want something you do not have,

you have to do something you have never done.

We need to apply our hearts and exert a greater effort

to find the heart of God.

E. As the blossom goes before the fruit,

so must prayer and faith go before the answer.

III. WHY SHOULD I PRAY? THERE ARE MANY GOOD REASONS

TO BE FAITHFUL IN PRAYER.

A. YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY WHEN YOU PRAY!

PRAYER WAS FIRST MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE:

Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

B. THESE MEN AND WOMEN WERE KNOWN AS PEOPLE OF

PRAYER.

1. JABEZ is known today for his beautiful prayer.

I Chron. 4: 9 O that God would bless me ....

2. David prayed.

Psalms 109:4 I give myself unto prayer...

3. Daniel prayed three times a day.

4. Samuel’s work for God started by prayer.

5. Elijah prayed a 63 word prayer and fire came down from

heaven.

6. Elisha prayed and dead boy came back to life.

7. Paul learned in prison prayer worked.

8. Hannah --- Prayer changed a dysfunctional family.

9. Hezekiah --- PRAYER ADDED 15 YEARS.

IV. We should pray because GOD VALUES HIS PEOPLE’S PRAYERS, GOD LOVES THE PRAYERS HIS PEOPLE PRAY.

A. What is valuable in heaven?

B. The roads in heaven are paved with gold and the gates are pearl.

God’s value system differs greatly from man’s.

C. God treasures praise, tears and prayers!

Revelation 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

V. WHY SHOULD WE PRAY? JESUS TEACHES HIS PEOPLE TO PRAY!

A. LORD TEACH US?

B. I always thought that when the disciples came to Jesus, they were asking Jesus to teach us HOW TO PRAY?

C. THIS IS NOT THE CASE: THEY CAME TO JESUS AND ASKED JESUS: LORD TEACH US TO PRAY!